Politics

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – Major insurer Florida Blue could raise rates in 2015 for people who enrolled through the federal health-care exchange after seeing a large number of older and sicker enrollees.

Patrick Geraghty, chief executive officer of the Jacksonville-based insurer, said told the Kaiser Health News that it remains committed to the individual health-insurance market. But he added that rates also could be affected by such factors as a relative lack of younger and healthier enrollees.

“We will be under tremendous financial pressure initially given the age, risk profile and high utilization of the new membership,” he said. “It is far from clear that large enrollment in the marketplace is a financially beneficial place to be.”

Kaiser Health News said Florida Blue, which formerly was known as Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida, would not disclose its proposed 2015 rates. That proposal was submitted to state regulators last month.